Brockers expects quick transition

Monday

Jul 23, 2012 at 10:11 AM

Michael Brockers needed only one season as a starter on the defensive line at LSU before becoming a first-round selection in this year's NFL draft.

Michael Brockers needed only one season as a starter on the defensive line at LSU before becoming a first-round selection in this year's NFL draft.Now Brockers, a former LSU defensive tackle entering his rookie season in the NFL, expects to make a quick transition at the next level with a defensive unit looking to rebuild after finishing 22nd in the league in total defense a season ago. Brockers was selected 14th overall in the first-round of the 2012 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams this past April after playing two seasons at LSU. The Houston, Texas, native started all 14 games at defensive tackle for the Tigers last season and finished with 54 tackles, two sacks, and 10 tackles for a loss. "(The Rams) have a 4-3 attack like I played with at LSU. I feel it's going to be good and that I fit in comfortable," said Brockers, who attended the Pro Football Combine Camp at Nicholls State's John L. Guidry Stadium on Saturday. Despite LSU losing to Alabama in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 9 in New Orleans, Brockers ended his collegiate career on a high note, finishing with a career-high seven tackles in the game. Brockers said his decision to enter the draft was primarily due to family matters. "Playing with the guys I came in (to LSU) with, we wanted to win a championship," Brockers said. "It made the decision (to go pro) very difficult, but I had to be able to go and choose what was best for me and my family." Brockers' decision to choose LSU over scholarship offers from Texas A&M and Texas Tech coming out of high school had a lot to do with the Tigers' history and reputation, and their style of play in the SEC, he said. "Mostly it had to do with watching their defense," he said. "Just the tradition, it was LSU in general. I was an LSU fan when I was in 8th grade, so I wanted to go to LSU if they offered me a scholarship. Luckily, they did."The expectation level with Brockers' current team is going to be a bit different — at least in the beginning — from his college team. At LSU, Brockers played in front of sellout crowds of over 92,000 every home game and on teams that were expected to compete for championships most every year. With the Rams, he'll be playing for a team that had the NFL's second lowest attendance total a season ago and who hasn't reached the playoffs since the 2004 season. None of that deters Brockers, who said his expectations with the Rams are as high as they were at LSU."They say it's different and the stadium (Edward Jones Dome) is not as big, but they talk about how St. Louis Rams fans get rowdy," Brockers said. "As far as expectations, I'm going to go into the season wanting to go to the playoffs and the Super Bowl every year. That's how I am. I can't look at it any other way."Brockers admitted there was added pressure going to a rebuilding team like the Rams instead of a perennial Super Bowl contender like the New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers, but added that he feels up to the task. "I feel a little pressure, but I have to step up to the plate and step up to the challenge and overcome it," he said. "Hopefully we get a playoff berth with this team." Brockers will also be making the transition to a new coach this season. Veteran coach Jeff Fisher spent 17 seasons with Tennessee Titans (and formerly the Houston Oilers) before the two sides parted ways after the 2010 season. Brockers offered nothing but praise for Fisher, who was hired by the Rams in January after the club fired Steve Spagnuolo, now the Saints' defensive coordinator. "He's a real player's coach," Brockers said. "When you hear guys talk about that, sometimes you don't really understand what that is. He was a player, so he understands what the players go through and that's a big thing. That's why players love him."The Rams and Fisher showed interest in Brockers in part because of his experience in the 4-3 defense, and Brockers said he wasn't surprised when St. Louis made him their first overall pick after trading down with the Dallas Cowboys from the sixth overall spot. Dallas then used the No. 6 pick to draft Brockers' LSU teammate, defensive back Morris Claiborne."I wouldn't say I was surprised because (Rams defensive line coach Coach Mike Waufle) said that I was his guy and if I was available they were going to take me," Brockers said. Brockers' agent, Albert Elias, helped put on the combine camp at Nicholls State last week and said Brockers' discipline and upside impressed the Rams. "He's a very quiet leader that leads by example," Elias said. "He was just a redshirt sophomore (last year). He's got some growing to do with maturity, but he's making good decisions in terms of how he devotes his time off the field to football. He's got so many positives that I've never seen at that level."Brockers will report to Rams camp on July 24, with the team's first preseason game scheduled for Aug. 12 against the Indianapolis Colts. Taking the field for the first time in a Rams uniform will be a big step toward getting some initial jitters of playing in the NFL out of the way, he said. "Playing in the NFL with guys you've been watching on TV so long, after that first initial contact, I think I'll be good," Brockers said. Performance-wise, Brockers said he has at least one individual goal in mind for his rookie season. "I'd love to get rookie Defensive Player of the Year," he said. "I don't want to put any stats out there, but I want to be very productive."

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